Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

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03.10.2014 Stereotypes: homeless Rroma-immigrants in London

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Miller (2014) reports on homeless Rroma-immigrants in London for the tabloid Daily Mail. The facts are presented with as a result, the creation of the stereotypical image of a group of poorly educated Eastern Europeans that are on welfare and do not want or cannot integrate. It is said: “Complaints from local residents and businesses include reports of Eastern European gangs begging, washing in fountains, dumping rubbish, and defecating in public. Speaking last month Mayfair hairdresser Hakan Altay’s said the problem has been worse for his business than the economic crash. He said: ‘My business is down 20 per cent because of these gypsies. It didn’t affect us straight away, but it’s slowly killing it. Every single day we have problems.” Repeatedly, by reporting about Rroma – or supposed Rroma – that cause trouble, a one-sided notion of the minority is conveyed. This stereotype corresponds to the polemics of right-wing nationalist parties who have repeatedly warned of a mass immigration of Rroma into the British welfare state. The fact that this is a minority of the minority, is not reported. Rroma belong to all social classes. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 90,000 to 120,000 Rroma live in the UK, often for generations. Most of them are integrated, have a job and their own flats.

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03.10.2014 Athens: attempted eviction of a Rroma camp leads to protests

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Kemmos (2014) reports on an attempted eviction of an informal Rroma settlement in Halandri, a suburb of Athens. The Rroma who, according to the journalist, have been living on the private grounds since 40 years, shall now be evicted, following a decision by the ministry of interior. They were offered a site in Megara, a town forty kilometres east of Halandri. However, the inhabitants of the settlement do not want to move voluntarily to the new location. Firstly, the new site is not yet habitable, and on the other hand, they have set up small businesses in Halandri, such as the recycling of metal, and have a social network there. Upon the police’s appearance, the residents reacted by erecting barricades: “But the residents of the camp, supported by the mayor, decidedly resist. Entrenched in the inside, they organise the defence. The demolition operation that was planned for this morning did not take place. Forty residents of the camp of Halandri, located in the northeast of Athens, were able to block the arrival of the police cars by setting up barricades on the main access roads, producing significant traffic congestion at the entrance to the capital. At another entrance of the camp, trash and tires were set on fire, which forced the evacuation teams to make a U-turn.” The further fate of the settlement is still unclear. In Greece, according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, there are 200,000 to 300,000 Rroma. Quite a few of them have training, a job, and a flat. Rroma belong to all social classes, but are indeed particularly affected by poverty and discrimination (compare Citizenside France 2014, Okeanews 2014, Press TV).  

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03.10.2014 Attack on the office of the Schleswig-Holsteinian association of Rroma and Sinti

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Unknown people attacked the headquarters of the association of Rroma and Sinti in Schleswig-Holstein and largely destroyed the infrastructure of the local: “The office of the association of Roma and Sinti in Kiel was attacked by three unidentified men on Tuesday at noon. After the trio entered the office in the Elmschenhagen district, they suddenly struck the local computers and copiers with sticks. As the current state chairman of the organisation, Matthäus Weiß, loudly obstructed the dark-clad invaders, they escaped unrecognised. In Schleswig-Holstein, the group of the Roma minority has a recognized constitutional status” (Neues Deutschland 2014). A police spokesman stated that the motives of the perpetrators were not known. There was no evidence of a xenophobic background, but this could not be excluded either. Considering the growing hostilities against Rroma, which were inflamed in the wake of the debates about Rroma immigrants from different quarters, a racist motivation of the perpetrators is very likely. The fact that the perpetrators stole nothing and destroyed the interior of the office, contributes to this interpretation (compare Hamburger Abendblatt 2014, NDR 2014, Die Welt 2014).

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03.10.2014 European Antiracist Grassroots Movement calls for more commitment for the Rroma

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On the occasion of the proclamation of the “Rroma Pride” day of October the 5th, Abtan (2014) of the anti-racism organization “European Grassroots Antiracist Movement” calls for more commitment of all forces operating in Europe to reduce the discrimination against the Rroma minority. On the initiative of the organisation and in cooperation with local Rroma associations, days of action will be held in various European countries. Abtan uses the Czech concentration camp Lety as an example that the recognition of the Rroma and their history is until today not sufficient. At the site of the former camp, where an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Rroma were murdered, there is a pig farm, which was built during the Soviet rule. Again and again, Rroma organisations have asked for the demolition of the farm and the creation of an appropriate monument: “What does the defilement of the location of Lety tell us? It is the attempt to erase a past that [allegedly] did not happen. The indifference to certain sufferings of certain individuals. The relationship between the past genocide and the racist violence today. It tells us a story of commitment to remember. A revival of dignity and solidarity with which human rights activists, Roma and non-Roma, have organised the first European memorial on site. 18 countries were represented. It tells us about the shared sense of belonging to Europe, about the common love of the values ​​of democracy. The defilement of Lety tells us a part of the current history of Europe. However, across the continent, there are racist acts of violence perpetrated against Roma.” That’s why the fight against the continued injustices against the Rroma is so important, so that the younger generation may have a better future, which is not shaped by hopelessness and discrimination (compare Abtan 2014/II).

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03.10.2014 Integration award for Rroma organizations in the Western Balkans and Turkey

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The European Commission has announced in a recent press release that it awards seven distinguished organisations that are particularly involved in the integration of the Rroma in their countries. The winning organizations include: Roma Active Albania (RAA), which advocates the Rroma civil rights and draws attention to current topics of Romnja; the organization Citizens Association for the Promotion of Education of Roma Otaharin that is committed in Bosnia-Herzegonvina to better educational opportunities of the minority; in Kosovo The Ideas Partnership, which advocates for the integration of former beggars and promotes the enrolment of children; in Macedonia the organization Centre for Integration Ambrela that is committed to the promotion of Rroma in early childhood; in Serbia Hands of Friendship, which operates a parent-child education project; in Turkey the children’s art project Sulukule Roma Culture Development and Solidarity Association; and finally in Montenegro a project against child and forced marriages in Rroma communities, through the Centre for Roma Initiatives. The European Commission justifies its decision as follows: “We all – the European Commission, the governments, civil society organisations – need to send out the same message: Roma integration is an important policy. And it is not only investment for the benefit of this minority but it is also an investment to the benefit of society. Living in an environment in which each member of society contributes with their spirit and work force, will allow countries to grow strong and prosperous, from an economic, social and cultural perspective”, said Štefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, at the award ceremony.” Concerning the integration programmes of the warded organizations it must be remarked that begging Rroma or child marriages in no represent the norm among the minority.

 

– European Union (2014) Award for Roma Integration in the Western Balkans and Turkey. In: European Union online vom 1.10.2014. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-1064_en.htm

 

Keywords: Rroma, Europe, European Union, integration projects, organization, awards, stereotypes  

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

03.10.2014 Journalism prize for article on the genocide of Czech Rroma

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The article by journalist Silvie Lauder (2014) on the genocide of Rroma from the Czech Republic gives attention to a little addressed historical event and shows the importance of moral courage against collectively committed injustices: “Seventy years ago Czech and Slovak Roma embarked on a grim path to nearly complete annihilation. In the spring and summer of 1943, 4,500 Roma were shipped off to the so-called Gypsy camp in Auschwitz: one-third were from camps in Lety and Hodonin, in the south and southwest of the country, and two-thirds were taken from their homes. The fates of local Roma remain one of the least investigated chapters of the war, and one part of this story is completely unknown – that some Roma survived the Nazi attempt at extermination thanks to the help of “white people.”” At this point, one needs to comment that the genocide would not have been possible without the collaboration of the Czech authorities, who cooperated with the regime of the National Socialists, or at least obeyed them. Even before the rise of the Nazis, laws against Rroma were adopted in the Czech Republic: in 1927, the Czech Parliament initiated a law against “wandering gypsies” that forced them to register themselves with fingerprints and henceforth forbade them to enter certain areas. A detailed description of the experiences of survivors, who survived the Holocaust thanks to the help of dedicated individuals follows. Nevertheless Lauder comes to a bleak conclusion: “Twenty thousand of the 23,000 European Roma who went through the Gypsy camp did not survive. Czech and Moravian Roma, after German and Austrian Roma, made up the second-largest group and on them the Nazi persecution fell with the most terrifying strength. “The majority of adults were killed along with entire families and clans, and with them their family traditions, customs, music, songs, and stories were lost,” notes Vlasta Kladivova in the book, The Last Stop: Auschwitz-Birkenau. “There was no one left to pass them on to.””

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03.10.2014 Journalism prize for article on the genocide of Czech Rroma

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The article by journalist Silvie Lauder (2014) on the genocide of Rroma from the Czech Republic gives attention to a little addressed historical event and shows the importance of moral courage against collectively committed injustices: “Seventy years ago Czech and Slovak Roma embarked on a grim path to nearly complete annihilation. In the spring and summer of 1943, 4,500 Roma were shipped off to the so-called Gypsy camp in Auschwitz: one-third were from camps in Lety and Hodonin, in the south and southwest of the country, and two-thirds were taken from their homes. The fates of local Roma remain one of the least investigated chapters of the war, and one part of this story is completely unknown – that some Roma survived the Nazi attempt at extermination thanks to the help of “white people.”” At this point, one needs to comment that the genocide would not have been possible without the collaboration of the Czech authorities, who cooperated with the regime of the National Socialists, or at least obeyed them. Even before the rise of the Nazis, laws against Rroma were adopted in the Czech Republic: in 1927, the Czech Parliament initiated a law against “wandering gypsies” that forced them to register themselves with fingerprints and henceforth forbade them to enter certain areas. A detailed description of the experiences of survivors, who survived the Holocaust thanks to the help of dedicated individuals follows. Nevertheless Lauder comes to a bleak conclusion: “Twenty thousand of the 23,000 European Roma who went through the Gypsy camp did not survive. Czech and Moravian Roma, after German and Austrian Roma, made up the second-largest group and on them the Nazi persecution fell with the most terrifying strength. “The majority of adults were killed along with entire families and clans, and with them their family traditions, customs, music, songs, and stories were lost,” notes Vlasta Kladivova in the book, The Last Stop: Auschwitz-Birkenau. “There was no one left to pass them on to.””

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01.10.2014 Bulgaria: vote-buying and the Rroma

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Sergueva (2014) reports on the illegal vote buying in Bulgaria. In the last elections for the European Parliament, the problem did become particularly manifest: on the one hand, we have found that some employees were forced under threat of dismissal by their employers to select certain parties or candidates. On the other hand, votes of people with low incomes were bought with financial incentives. This was also the case with Rroma with low income: “Forced to survive with a minimum income of 340 leva (174 Euros) per month, Maya Ivanova did not hesitate for a second to sell her vote for the legislative elections taking place this Sunday in Bulgaria. “Who would reject 50 Leva, today, in such a misery?”, this 51-year-old woman from a Roma household states, that was met by AFP in Bobovdol. Only to “us, the Roma, one gives merely one meat dumpling and two sandwiches”, she adds: “The 50 leva are taken by the organizers.”” According to Transparency International, about 6% of the surveyed voters already have sold their vote once. Just as many are ready to do the same. Antony Galabov by Transparency International explains this with the very high rate of poverty in Bulgaria. According to estimates, 20% of the population in Bulgaria now lives below the poverty line. In many Romany ghettos, according to Vania Noucheva from the IMRI institute in Paris, there are usurers whom many slum-dwellers are in debt of and therefore can be extorted votes. Under the pressure of the European Union, several countermeasures have been decided now: at the next elections, a thousand persons suspected of vote-buying will be monitored. The notice on the ballot saying “Vote-buying is prohibited” exists since 2007, but was not of much use so far, Sergueva states.

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01.10.2014 Demagoguery against Rroma in the Internet

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Meier (2014) reports on open agitation against Rroma in a Facebook group from Duisburg. A user posted a wanted poster with a blurred photo, in which he claimed that two dark-haired, veiled women had tried to abduct a child. The offenders are Rroma, the initiator suggested. However, according to the police, theses accusations are unfounded: “The police sees the story, which reproduces the century-old stereotype of child-abducting “gypsies”, as invented. Nevertheless, the Facebook does not fail its purpose: “to Auschwitz”, “rape them”, “to the gas chamber”, these are comments under the “wanted poster”. It was shared about 6,000 within a few days, spread by other users. A stupid conflagration of hatred, having no consideration for the law, logic or spelling.” Meier sees the many affirmative responses to the inflammatory posting as a symptom of general, increasing xenophobia in Duisburg, that is not directly only towards, but in particular against Rroma. The inflammatory facebook group was in the meantime taken offline and an investigation for demagoguery was started. The accusations were not without impact, as the many supportive comments on the social network show, as well as similar expressions at town hall meetings. They stand in a tradition of negative stereotypes, which have been spread about the Rroma for centuries: already in the Middle-Ages, the minority was accused of abducting and trafficking children. It is thought provoking that these allegations still find so much response. In Germany, according to the Rroma Foundation, there are an estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma. The majority are well integrated, work, send their children to school and live in apartments.

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01.10.2014 Lille: evacuation of an informal Rroma settlement

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Bergès (2014) reports on the evacuation of an informal Rroma settlement in Lille. Numerous families inhabited it. However, the journalist does not report any exact numbers. The Rroma were repeatedly exposed to the pressure of the police and local residents, who demanded the closure of the site. Under the threat of eviction, the last remaining inhabitants have now abandoned the settlement. The camp was built on wasteland next to a motorway junction. The site will now be immediately fenced and handed over to the authorities of a real estate program, who wants to create office and residential premises on the parcel. At an adjacent intersection, there are other Rroma camps that have not been evicted yet.

Also in Loos, in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, one discusses the eviction of an informal Rroma settlement, while the affected Rroma and their supporters plead for a referendum. The focus of the discussions is especially concerned with the location of the settlement: the parking field of the prison of Loos (Mocellin 2014).

It should be emphasised that the forced evacuations of informal settlements complicate a long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants. The forced evictions or the harassment of residents do not solve the existing problems and the integration question, but simply move them from one location to the next. The rigorous expulsion of the minority reflects the unwillingness of the French government to engage in an active integration policy. Also, through the biased media focus on the informal settlements, the impression is created that there are only Rroma belonging to the lower class, who are poorly educated. However, the Rroma from the informal settlements constitute only a small portion of all Rorma in France. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society. They belong to the middle or even upper-class and are constantly ignored by the French media, the public and politicians. Out of fear of discrimination, a lot of these integrated Rroma keep their identity a secret (compare Nord Éclair 2014, Radenovic 2014).

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01.10.2014 Remembering instead of suppressing: addressing the Rroma Holocaust at German schools

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Mirwald (2014) reports on the work of Petra Rosenberg, chairman of the national association of German Sinti and Roma in Berlin-Brandenburg, as an expert on thematic days in German schools. Rosenberg continues the work of her father, Otto Rosenberg, which campaigned until his death for the equality of the Rroma and informed about the history of the minority: “the 62-year-old graduate teacher described the terrible experiences that her father documented in the book “The burning glass”. The young audience, who in the classroom is currently learning about the Third Reich, learned that Otto Rosenberg, who was one of the founding fathers of the civil rights movement of the Sinti and Roma in Germany, was able to write down his memories only in old age. Her father was a broken man, who was never able to work again. He woke up at night, cried and asked why he had survived as the only one of eleven siblings. “As a child I didn’t know anything. I only felt the grief, took his hand and cried with him”, Petra Rosenberg described scenes from her childhood. […] It was shocking to hear that doctors and scientists that had questioned and examined Otto Rosenberg in 1936 as race researchers in the camp Berlin-Malzahn, were able to practice after the war in Frankfurt am Main, and that the policeman who sent Otto Rosenberg to Auschwitz, later worked in Ludwigsburg as a detective in a high position.” Even after the war ended, discrimination against Rroma therefore continued, and it took the collective protest of many Holocaust survivors and their descendants, so that the injustices were finally officially recognized. Unfortunately, the prejudices about the minority continue until today, as the debate on the so-called “poverty immigrants” reveals.

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01.10.2014 Rroma and Migration in Germany: discussion instead of polemics

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Dribbusch (2014), on the occasion of the nomination of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia as safe countries of origin, argues for more discussion culture rather than reductionist polemics. Unfortunately, she mixes economic migration and political asylum and does not questions enough, how these categories intermingle, blend, and are dealt with: “The economic integration of people who have come to stay, must be openly debated because a solely humanitarian appeal is not enough to create acceptance. The question is: should taxpayers in Germany be responsible for offering a Roma woman from Bulgaria and their children, or a young African from Chad, better life opportunities? The answer could be yes. But only if there is also integration assistance, that means, not only should asylum seekers been freed of [current] work interdictions, but should also been paid language courses and qualification measures. […] If one wants to open up new possibilities for a poverty policy, it is also appropriate to set limits. It is acceptable that Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia are now defined as “safe countries of origin”, to speed up the asylum process. The asylum applications from Serbia recently skyrocketed.” Dribbusch is right when she calls for more integration help that consist of concrete offers and not just acceptance. However, she conveys a very one-sided notion of the minority, if she portrays Rroma as “economic refugees”. She negates the well-educated migrants, as well as individual experiences of discrimination that exist spite the safety from political persecution. Moreover, Rroma only constitute a part of the migrants from the Southeast Europe. There are also a lot of ethnic Serbians, Macedonians, Bosnians and others, who migrate to Western Europe (compare Die Presse 2014, Kılıç 2014).  

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01.10.2014 Swiss funding, Northeast Hungary, and the discrimination against Rroma

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Odehnal (2014/I) reports on the current status of Swiss development projects in Northeast Hungary, in the city of Kazincbarcika. The region was awarded about 5 million francs for infrastructure projects and economic development: “The money from Switzerland was supposed to help in creating jobs: by creating corporations and by fostering tourism. In a business and incubator park in the centre, available jobs should be announced and young entrepreneurs should receive advice and assistance, for example in the form of cheaper offices. In the neighbouring village Sajókaza, the baroque castle ought to be renovated and expanded to a “meeting and talent centre”. In the former mining colony Rudabanya, the occurrence of bones of a 10 million old ancestor of man is planned to be expanded to an archaeological centre.” When Odehnal visited the region in 2012, all projects were initiated, and they had obtained tenders. When he now visited the city in September 2014, he found that not one of the planned projects had been realised. Some of those responsible refer to expensive tenders others refuse to provide information. Where infrastructure projects were actually implemented, as a water supply system in the city of Ozd, the pipes end in front of the Rroma quarter. The same thing in Sajókaza, where the European Union funded a sewerage system: “The lines stop where the Roma quarter begins. The local government does not want to improve the quality of living of Roma, says Tibor Derdek, head of the Buddhist Dr.-Ambekar-Gymnasium in Sajókaza, that wants to give Roma the possibility to go to highschool: “This is a corrupt, racist system in our community. And it works only with the support of the EU.”” Odehnal (2014/II) sees the reason for the lacking implementation of the Swiss projects in the selection of unsuitable partners, who prioritised the wrong things, as well as in the lack of on site control. The review takes only place on paper, he states. Odehnal’s articles are a direct repudiation of Hungarian bureaucracy, who is pursuing its own goals. As regards to the Rroma, it must be noted that although Rroma in Hungary are indeed affected by severe poverty, which has expanded massively since the end of the Soviet bloc and the state jobs, this is not representative of all members of the minority. Quite a few Rroma were able to successfully integrate into the new system, have jobs and belong to the middle class and some even to the upper class. They are not perceived as Rroma (compare Schindler 2014).

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01.10.2014 The French Rroma policy and the public image of the minority

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Media Part (2014) discusses the public perception and representation of Rroma in France, and its influence on the social interaction with the minority. The notion of Rroma is charged with so many negative attributes that already a small influx of Rroma provokes the anger of local residents. This disables an objective, unbiased interaction with members of the minority as well as policies aimed at integration: “The most often mentioned stereotypes may serve as evidence: these families, attracted by the wealth and the quality of our social security have behaviours not compatible with our lifestyles. Living off begging and theft, they contribute significantly to the growth of daily delinquency that enrages our fellow citizens. They lack hygiene, their collective behaviour makes their proximity unbearable. Their culture and their way of life do not allow, without exception, to integrate them into our society. They do not know or do not accept our rules. In short, for the good of one as the other, they must return to their countries.” This polemic, reductionist perspective Mediapart rightly condemns as intellectual arson that maintains the exclusion of the minority. The author calls for a paradigm shift away from polemical representations of the Rroma towards differentiated, respectful minority politics: “Whatever our faith, our political commitment, our affiliation, our heritage, our way of life, we have to show intelligence and awareness of the past. It is not naivety or pity, but our ability to tolerance and the recognition of the right to allow anyone to live with his/her idiosyncrasies.” In response to the accusation of a one-sided, racist representation, it is often argued that this is not based upon prejudices, but real tangible facts. The Rroma are made responsible for their marginalised status by their own behaviours. This justification is very dangerous as it represents exclusion and poverty as part of cultural characteristics, rather than recognising them as exclusion and poverty. In addition, many Rroma are well integrated and form part of the middle or even upper class. They are completely ignored in the public discourse about the minority. Most journalists do not recognise this last point.

Debot (2014) points out in his commentary to the article that despite the demand for a respectful minority policy, there is still the problem that one mostly speaks about but not with the minority. An adequate minority policy therefore requires a close dialogue with the concerned group. The problem of taking statements of individual Rroma as representative for all of them continues, and does not recognise the differences between the Rroma groups as well as individual opinions. This includes the recognition of stereotypes that cannot always be easily recognised and deconstructed as prejudices by outsiders.

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24.09.2014 Essen: theatre play addresses Rroma stereotypes

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In the latest play by Volker Lösch, who is known for his political and provocative productions, six Rroma actors together with six Gadje (non-Rroma) address various stereotypes about Rroma. They do this through a very free interpretation of Homer’s “Odyssey”: “The ancient Homer text about the adventurous wanderings of the warrior Odysseus back to his beloved home is broken repeatedly with reports from the lives of the performers: they give a face to the everyday discrimination and tell of the futile escape from poverty. Pride speaks from their stories, and occasionally rage about the sometimes rigid structures of their community. Odysseus and his companions on other hand, are the “good citizens” in Lösch’s production. […] His odyssey leads this Odysseus to the other, into the strange world of the Roma. Fast-paced, the winds drive along his ship from cliché to cliché: The strangers show themselves to the king of Ithaca as a social benefit scammers, unsightly Cyclops or as rampant, belly dancing sirens of seduction. In the large family of the wind god Aeolus, Odysseus encounters incest” (Dame 2014). The “strangers” that Homer and his fellowship encounters, are embodied by Rroma actors. They are described in detail and characterised by Homer and his companions during the see voyages, long before they actually encounter them. Thereby, the process of how prejudices are created is reflected itself. The stereotypes of the frame story are juxtaposed with the real-life experiences of the Rroma actors, who are confronted with these prejudices in everyday life.

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24.09.2014 Forced relocation of Rroma in Miskolc

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Fee (2014) reports on the forced relocation of Rroma in Miskolc. The government justifies the eviction of the Rroma neighbourhood with the supposedly high crime-rates in the settlement and with the removal of an unwanted slum: “In fact, the deputy mayor was downright fickle. He showed us schematics and crime data, and explained this wasn’t about ethnicity but about demolishing an impoverished slum. It’s about providing a better future, he said, for a city that’s had a turbulent 25-year transition. He seemed offended at the suggestion that demolishing the neighborhood was about getting rid of the city’s Roma.” This contrasts with the experience of the local Rroma, who indeed feel systematically excluded and disadvantaged. Although the government pays them a small financial contribution if they move away freely, the financial grant is attached to the condition that they resettle in the suburbs of Miskolc, and not in the city itself. This is a clearly exclusionary, racist demand. It must also be emphasised at this point that Fee’s report only addresses already visible Rroma, who are excluded. The ones who are integrated, which make up a considerable part of the Rroma in Hungary, are not thematised. Fee also points out the disturbing political situation in Hungary, which is characterised by a slow undermining of the separation of powers by the incumbent government. Especially the right-wing nationalist Jobbik party creates and spreads a negative public image of Rroma, which makes them responsible for high crime rates and social injustices. This pejorative public image contributes to the increased marginalisation of the minority which, in the case of Miskolc results in Rroma being asked to settle down in the suburbs. This at least is the desire the political leaders. Szabolcs Pogonyi, from the Institute of nationalism studies at the Central European University in Budapest, points out that the anti-Rroma slogans of Jobbik lead to a wider circulation of racist ideas among an increasing part of the population.

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24.09.2014 Roubaix: Rroma demand integration assistance

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A group of about fifteen Rroma demonstrated in mid-September in front of the Roubaix mayor’s office. They called for more support from the government in their efforts to integrate and the maintenance of their current accommodation: the former doctor’s office of the philanthropic physician Christophe Lamarre. Previously, they had been driven from their settlement in Galon d’Eau. Dr. Lamarre was so generous to accommodate them in the former treatment facility. Two weeks ago, the electricity was cut. The doctor is overwhelmed with the costs that exceed 15,000 Euros and requests help from the community. However, this failed to materialise. They had repeatedly assured him help that did not come, the physician complains. The children of the families are enrolled in local schools. The adults are looking for work, but face great difficulties: “We want no more mice, no cockroaches, no moisture”, they demand with signs that attract the reluctance of local residents. “We have been here now for five years. We are looking for work, but can find nothing.” […] That’s why the Roma have come to ask for the support from the mayor. And they do not want to content themselves with a meeting in the mayor’s cabinet: “We have only 150 Euros per month for our family of six children. We cannot live with that. One has to do something”, they demand and promise, despite a missing reaction,  “to come in front of the mayor’s office every day.” Dr. Lamarre on his part complained that he did not receive any help and was overwhelmed by the situation. He had merely acted in accordance with the professional ethics as a doctor, he stated. On part of the major’s office, one had promised him help that never came. At the major’s office, in turn, one disclaims to have done everything one deemed necessary. It was private matter for which one didn’t have any responsibility. However, an assistant to the mayor, Sylvane Verdonck, still hopes to find a suitable accommodation for families, by cooperating with the organization PACT. The city government in turn has engaged the commission for hygiene and safety. This could close down the accommodation of families in case of severe deficiencies within a month. It should be noted that the evictions of families considerably complicate a long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants. The forced evictions simply push the ongoing problems and the integration question from one location to the next, but do not solve them. Usually, the displaced people simply resettle in a new place after a short time. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society. They are continuously hidden by the media, the public and by politics (compare Grosclaude 2014).

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26.09.2014 Dammarie-les-Lys: informal settlement Rroma being evicted

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The Rroma of an informal settlement in Dammarie-les-Lys, on the Île-de-France, will have to leave their dwellings by December 8th. A local court decided it. Around 100 people had settled on a community plot that, among other things, encompasses a dilapidated building. In this unoccupied house and around the building, the immigrants settled down on June 12th. Functioning sanitary facilities were not available. Several of the children are enrolled in local schools. Their future education is now being threatened: “They have the right to three months extension on the site”, adds Myriam Leroux, of the association “Essonnian solidarity for the Roma and Romanian families” (ASEFRR), a member of the collective Romeurope. She is accompanying them since their expulsion from the neighbouring department of Essonne. “They are all rag pickers. They sell at the flea markets of Montreuil on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Otherwise, they live by begging. The women makes 5 to 10 Euros a day. What to eat from. They are also enrolled in the Restos du Coeur [a French soup kitchen]”, she says. And afterwards, where will they go? “For them it is the system-D [self-help]!” It should be stressed that forced evictions of informal settlements complicate a long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants. Due to the expulsions, the problems and the integration question are simply moved from one location to the next, but not solved. Also, due to the media’s and aid organisations’ focus on informal settlements, one suggests that Rroma are exclusively belonging to the lower class and are poorly educated. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society. They are completely hidden from the French public. The recently immigrated Rroma from Eastern Europe constitute only a small portion of all Rroma residents in France (compare Bordier 2014).

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26.09.2014 European Centre for Antiziganism Research criticizes the status of safe countries of origin

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Graff (2014) spoke with Marko Knudsen, the head of the European Centre for Antiziganism Research. Knudsen decidedly criticises the new asylum law that defines Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina as being safe countries of origin in the interview. For him it is beyond question that the Rroma are affected by marginalisation and discrimination in the three countries. The opinion that Rroma are not actively persecuted in these three countries, he deems inappropriate and trivialising. Therefore, the European Centre for Antiziganism Research will file a suit against the new law. The centre justifies its charge with the following three points: “Where is Germany’s historical responsibility, which is justified through the Nazi era? Unfortunately, it is nonexistent. For me as a Roma, this decision is absolutely reprehensible. As a German, I am ashamed. For this reason, we, as the European Centre for Antiziganism Research, see ourselves forced to take legal action against this law, because: first, it violates the principle of equal treatment. Second, it violates European anti-discrimination law. Third, there is political persecution of the Roma in Europe because of antiziganism that is passed as an unquestioned European cultural code from generation to generation, whereby it is implemented in the majority of society” (Knudsen 2014). Knudsen sees the strengthened nationalism in many European countries and the exclusion of minorities resulting from it, as well as extreme economic hardships, as equally important reasons for asylum for being open political persecution. Exactly this issue was the core of the political debate: are the Rroma in Southeastern Europe actively persecuted or are they “only” affected by extreme poverty and discrimination. There was no consensus concerning this issue. Knudsen also criticizes the pressure exercised on the part of the European Union on the new member states, that did not improve the situation of minorities in the countries concerned. However, this assessment has to be questioned. It is absolutely the responsibility of the European Union to pressure its new Member States to a better compliance with minority rights. If they are not able to actively implement the requirements, this is not the fault of Brussels (compare Martens 2014).  

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26.09.2014 European Commission investigates segregation of Rroma in the Czech Republic

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Robinson (2014) reports on an announced infringement procedure of the European Commission against the Czech Republic, due to the violation of the legislation on discrimination. The Commission has stated it will investigate the discrimination against Rroma in the Czech Republic, in particular the segregation of Rroma children in public schools: “The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into the Czech Republic’s treatment of its Roma minority, in the latest attempt to improve the circumstances of the often persecuted group in Europe. […] A disproportionate number of Roma pupils are educated in schools for students with “mild mental disabilities”, which campaign groups say amounts to segregation. Roma pupils account for more than a quarter of students in these schools, despite being just three per cent of the Czech population […].” The high proportion of Rroma children at schools for the disabled, which is documented by various studies, is actually in itself proof that the minority is in fact discriminated against at public schools. The Czech government for its part has announced that one has made progress in the fight against segregation, but that one could not abolish it from one day to the other, but only undo it step by step. Amnesty International in turn emphasizes in a public statement that one has suggested to the Czech government for years that the segregation of Rroma  children constitutes an intolerable situation. But nearly nothing was done: “For years, Amnesty International has documented systemic discrimination against Roma children in Czech schools,” said Nicolas J. Beger, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office. “Yet the Czech government has so far failed to take effective measures to prevent, address and remedy this. In agreeing to launch infringement proceedings, the commission has sent a clear message to the Czech Republic and other member states – systemic discrimination towards Roma cannot and will not be tolerated”,  he added.”

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